#29679
Putting the Poetry of Film to Use Online 
This article helps technical communicators become better informed producers of interactive, cinema-like new media objects (help systems, public information and ordering kiosks, promotional technical presentations on the web, and so on) by providing a summary of how cinema works, and then by proposing a few ways that some basic cinema editing and display techniques can be integrated into on-screen technical communications practice. The author makes the claim that if we are to begin thinking and working like film makers, the fundamental poetics and information designs we use in our new media design and development work must also change.
Gillette, David. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Documentation>Multimedia>Video
#30558
Quality Measurement for Documentation: Different Tools for Different Needs
The world of technical communication continues to search for a reliable information metric that is easy to apply and widely accepted. Although that goal eludes us for the moment, we can make a choice among competing metrics based on an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and appropriateness for different audiences. Two kinds of metrics, ordinal scale metrics and surface feature metrics, seem to meet many of our needs. The differences between them lie in their choice of measurements and the methods of applying the measurements.
Hunter, Claudia M. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Quality>Assessment
#24074
Quality Online Help Development
Basic steps to developing successful online help include content planning based on available resources and user needs, use of a style guide, effective design and access, prototype development, usability studies, and being open to changes. Defining “quality” as “customer satisfaction” we can place the online help development process into the context of a continuous quality process model that focuses on meeting customer needs. This quality process includes identifying output, identifying customer and customer requirements, converting requirements into processes, measuring the output, and evaluating results.
Evans, Jeanette P. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#15178
Quality Time: How Good Documentation Cuts Development Costs
Discusses several ways project managers can control the sometimes-chaotic process of documentation development.
Woodcock, Gill. Intercom (2001). Articles>Management>Documentation
#30285
Question and Answer Method of Generating Manuals
Several Texas Instruments writing groups are using a new manual publication method that emphasizes more customer interaction early in the manual development process. This emphasis brings project teams and customers together to accurately define their expectations for the documentation. Writers chunk information as they create the manuals, which allows reviewers to look at the small pieces one at a time and to focus only on those chunks containing information pertinent to their particular expertise. This method defines manual parameters early in the process, which simplifies usability testing.
Lang, Darice. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Information Design
#21383
Experts from around the World are working on a new ISO standard for software documentation (Guidelines for the design and preparation of user documentation for application software). This article outlines how the standard is being produced, its current status and what it contains.
Unwalla, Mike. TechScribe (2003). Articles>Documentation>Standards
#21247
For the past ten years, the Documentation Department at Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. has undergone numerous changes and evolutions--many to keep up with changing technology and market needs, many to accommodate organizational shifts and restructuring. This presentation sheds light on some of the innovative and creative ways the department has been reorganized and the dynamic documentation strategies that have been put into practice as a result.
Belcher, Gena, Scott DeLoach and Juliette Jandel-Leavitt. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Workflow
#25930
Read and Write DocBook XML Using OpenOffice.org
The project goal is to explore the possibility of using OpenOffice.org as a WYSIWYG editor of XML content. The principle is to edit structured documents using styles. These styles are then transformed to XML tags on export.
OpenOffice.org (2005). Articles>Documentation>Software>OpenOffice
#11748
My father taught me valuable lessons that I will never forget. He taught me how to maintain the family car, how to fix household appliances, and how to use garden equipment. Although would show me how to perform the task, he would stress that I read the instructions. His philosophy was based on the belief that instructions are written to teach and to prevent mistakes. What does this have to do with usability?
#28123
"Read the Manual!" What Manual?
How can I read the documentation when there is no documentation?
Manes, Stephen. InfoWorld (2001). Articles>Documentation>Technology
#22263
"Read the Manual!" What Manual?
Customer service shouldn't begin when you have a problem. It should start when a product is built, so that you don't have to futz around on the Web or wait on hold to get answers. One form of that service is good product design. Another is a great manual.
Manes, Stephen. PC World (2001). Articles>Documentation>Technology
#22829
Readable Computer Documentation 
A retrospective look shows earlier advice still relevant to both predicting and producing readable writing. For prediction, refined readability formulas with stronger criterion passages and updated familiar -word lists have appeared, although the computerization of readability tests sometimes encourages misapplying or misinterpreting them when screening text. For production, attention to sentence construction, word characteristics, and information density remains relevant to both drafting and revising computer documentation for readability, especially since reading speed and reader preference often interact with comprehension in practical settings.
Klare, George R. Journal of Computer Documentation (2000). Articles>Documentation>Assessment>Usability
#30555
Reader-Centered Documentation Provides the Necessary Context
A features-based approach to documentation is appropriate for reference manuals, where the goal is to provide information on something the reader already knows. This article explores how to meet the needs of the reader when providing documentation for user manuals.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2007). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design
#28129
The Real Value in Sarbanes-Oxley
Companies are finding unexpected business and IT benefits in compliance.
Melymuka, Kathleen. ComputerWorld (2006). Articles>Documentation>Legislation>Workplace
#24320
This paper describes an online documentation delivery and feedback solution developed to meet the needs of a fast-paced project in which designers, developers, marketing specialists, technical writers, and beta-test customer sites were located all over the world. During the development of the IBM Health Data Network, we needed a way to provide drafts of the product documentation to all of the developers, reviewers, and users on a real-time basis. We also needed a way to get input and updates from the developers, and feedback from the people in the field who were working with beta versions of the new system. This paper describes how we set up a Web-based solution to meet these needs.
Vogt, Herbert E. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#27807
Recipe for Designing Usable Documentation
What makes documentation usable? Usable documentation accommodates the way I think. Hart summarizes his principles for define 'user-friendly documentation.'
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Usability Interface (2006). Articles>Documentation>Usability
#21574
Reconstructing the Dialogs: Effective Methods for Structuring a Context-Sensitive Help System
When assigned to create a context-sensitive hypertext Help system, writers and editors often find themselves asking, 'Where do I start? What is context-sensitivity and how in-depth should it be? How do I organize Help topics for the interface?' We will demonstrate how to structure a Help system based on context-sensitivity, the interface, and useful access tools. We will show how WordPerfect Domestic Documentation Services uses interface information to create a topics database and a corresponding text file.
Calhoun, Deirdre and Wendy Fritzke. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help
#30561
Reducing Complexity in Documentation
With more emphasis being placed on customer satisfaction, technical writers need to focus on information strategies that will lead to happier customers. The complexity of the information is one common complaint of customers. Writers need to understand what customers think is complex. Then, writers need to develop strategies to combat these complexities.
Roscoe-Iverson, Ellen. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Technical Writing>Minimalism
#21388
Relative Costs of Paper and Online Documentation
This article compares the costs of development, production and maintenance for paper and online documentation.
Unwalla, Mike. TechScribe (2003). Articles>Documentation>Management
#30562
Replace Your Printed Library with an Electronic Library on CD-ROM
This paper shows how you can improve the way your business receives, handles, updates, and views technical documentation. You will learn about softcopy books that can be viewed online, how they are created, and the advantages of having your documentation in Softcopy.
Vogt, Herbert E. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>CD ROM
#24819
Researching Requirements for Field Service Documentation
This discussion will help technical communicators research field service engineering requirements, analyze the requirements, and implement the requirements into service documentation.
Andrews, Elise, Michelle M. Merritt and Arline Zalenski. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation
#21741
Requesting a quote for outsourced documentation services can be confusing and frustrating. Often it means that managers in IT, engineering or HR must negotiate with professionals whose skills they cannot effectively assess. This can easily lead to inappropriate expectations and disappointment.
Dawson, Colin. Info Action (2000). Articles>Documentation>Outsourcing>Assessment
#22924
The editor and principal writer of Producing Quality Technical Information (1983) responds to the commentaries: answering questions about the sources of PQTI; discussing what the System Information group at IBM's Santa Teresa Laboratory were doing about usability from 1979 to 1983; comparing the predecessor nine 'ease-of-use factors' with the seven 'qualities' of PQTI and the nine 'quality characteristics' of Prentice Hall's subsequent editions of PQTI, published under the title Developing Quality Technical Information; and revealing his own motives and thought processes in working on several usability initiatives in the laboratory at that time, including the publication of PQTI.
Dean, Morris. Journal of Computer Documentation (2002). Articles>Reviews>Documentation
#20551
Restructuring Online Documentation for the World Wide Web
Technical communicators around the world are turning to the World Wide Web us their primary delivery agent for on-line documentation. The transition from older forms of on-line documentation to HTML-based documents pre - sents new challenges in every phase of the documentation process: document creation, layout, access, and especially hypermedia capability The constant development of new web tools presents an even greater challenge for an organization seeking to stay abreast of technology with an ever decreasing budget. This panel will outline the basic steps in migrating to the web while focusing on one organization’s solution to meeting the challenges of restructuring its on-line documentation for web migration.
Goode, Christina M., Jennifer Campbell and David Hale. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Documentation>Web Design>Online
#19383
Restructuring Your User Information
Details a process for improving the usability, consistency, and organization of user information within businesses that maintain medium to large documentation libraries.
Richards, Charles. Intercom (2003). Articles>Content Management>Documentation>Usability
